Hi.

I am Linda, based out of Sweden but mostly traveling the world. Here you will find my travel tips, healthy lifestyle tips, my personal style and lifestyle in general. Thank you for following on my new adventures.

Yes! It´s true. I have had problems with my thyroid gland. It is a very common problem among women in Sweden and around the world, I did not want to talk about this before, I wanted to wait until I got better and see if I really could heal the natural way.

Low function of the thyroid gland - hypothyroidism affects more and more women today. This means that thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. The thyroid gland regulates metabolism so a subfunction results in the body's metabolism going low, hence unwanted weight gain. Common symptoms include: feeling that something is wrong, freezing, low metabolism despite good diet and exercise, losing hair, fatigue, anxiety, constipation, depression / dryness, dry skin, facial swelling, dry hair, etc. Something that I also noticed was that my eyebrows became very thin, especially towards the edges. And my body temperature was always very low around 36 degrees and I was constantly freezing. I never freeze anymore :)

Underlying causes may be nutritional deficiency, poor digestion or the body does not absorb the nutrients properly, as well as stress that is probably one of the most common causes where prolonged stress and cortisol secretion may have caused adrenal fatigue. If this is the case, you must heal your adrenal glands first and then there is a healing diet and rest that applies.

It usually takes several years to develop a subcutaneous function of the thyroid gland and the symptoms may come slowly, one by one. Medication is usually given out, but in my case I chose not to take any medication, instead I wanted to support my body with proper nutrition and nutritional supplements, and to "fix" the root cause of why my thyroid gland was "broken" in the first place. Our bodies are unique and tell us when something is not right by having symptoms and not feeling well. In my case, I suspected that my main reason was many years of stress and making adrenal glands tired and exhausted. Given the hectic and stressful life I've lived, it's quite logical that this was the main reason. When I think about it my body has been trying to tell me to slow down for a very long time, but I did not listen and instead I have been pushing it not allowing my body to be tired or rest, cause then I would feel lazy or unproductive. I could not have been more wrong. When you really get to know your own body and listen to its signs and symptoms, you can heal and treat yourself with the right diet, nutrition, high quality dietary supplements and the right workout that suits your body and its needs that suits your life situation. No one should go around and feel sick half of the month, you should not have hormones that cause big problems and that at times make you feel crazy, you should not feel constant anxiety or depression. It is not normal. Somehow, I feel that people just accepted this and it became normal. Eventually you´ll probably get anti-depressant drugs and everything will be fine again. But I do not believe in this really, sure it certainly helps many people to handle the depression and anxiety temporarily but how is it in the long run?

What happens when the body begins to get used to all these medicines and do you have to take it for the rest of your life and increase the dose after some time to get the same desired effect? These are few questions that I asked many times from my pure curiosity and I never really got a concrete answer. In many cases, with the right resources the body can heal and repair on its own. That is how we are built. Our biochemical processes and everything our bodies are capable of is completely unbelievable and unique with the right resources of course. This should be a priority, and if nothing of it would work well then you might need to consider medications, but doctors are quick to prescribe medicine right away as if it was the only way out without even trying the natural way first.

I just received my latest test results right after Christmas and my thyroid gland is back to almost normal, after having very bad results before. How wonderful? I'm so happy and I wish I could reach out to more women so more people who have had this particular problem with the thyroid gland can get help with their health. One advice from me to you, don´t give up! I know that you may feel lonely when you know that something in your body is not right and your doctor says that everything looks perfect. When I visited the doctor here in Sweden for the first time and I felt really sick, the doctor told me to go home and take a glass of sugar water and a sandwich !? You said what. I'm still a person who rarely goes to the doctor if I'm not feeling really sick and feeling that I can not solve it on my own. My results then were already showing that the thyroid gland was already in trouble, and looking back today at those results I wish they would have told me to start healing them already at that point. Instead I went home and a year later the results had trippeled to the worse. At that point I started my own "research". If there´s anything you can get rich from, it´s knowledge. The right facts and research my friends. What is logical? What feels right? No one knows your body better than yourself.

In a very easy way, I want to share my tips with you, but keep in mind that it is very individual. This has worked for me.

Avoid stress at all costs. Avoid hard workouts that rather stress your body when healing your thyroid gland. Long walks, fresh air, swimming, yoga, meditation, stretching, lighter exercise with your own body weight worked very well for me.

Eat a good anti-inflammatory diet like paleo or LCHF, you'll feel what suits you, it's very individual. Avoid gluten, sugar, simple carbohydrates and dairy that releases insulin, which in turn causes an uneven blood sugar, which does not benefit the thyroid gland or the rest of the body, either. Avoid some foods like cabbage, broccoli, and soy. Eat clean food and no junk food or artificial processed food. It is important that you´re not constantly hungry, so eat properly 3 times a day and don´t forget the good fats.

When I mean anti-inflammatory diet, it means completely gluten free. Gluten irritates the intestine and intestinal mucosa. I have also chosen to be completely dairy free since I am sensitive and milk sugar raises my insulin and I personally do not get so much out of eating dairy products. There are so many healthy options today in the form of coconut milk / coconut cream and different kinds of nut milk that I use instead and it makes me feel good.

I have also chosen to avoid night shade plants (nightshade), which for some people can cause inflammation, especially if you have an autoimmune disease, and I have experienced a huge difference. These plants produce a poison called solanine. All potato plants contain solanine which are as follows: white potato, tomato, cayenne pepper, eggplant, chili and peppers.

I have stopped eating spicy food completely, unfortunately because I love spicy food. But, it has made such a huge difference for me and my stomach. And we want to avoid all sorts of irritations to the stomach and bowel.

AVOID CAFFEIN - Even this is a stress to the body when you work to heal the thyroid gland. I only drink natural herbal teas that you can find here.

AVOID ALCOHOL - Even this is pure stress for a body that works to heal.

Take additional supplements of amino acids if needed. I take bcaa if needed. What type of supplements I use you can find it here.

DO NOT FAST - Fasting can be amazing for a healthy person and have many great benefits, but if you want to heal your body from adrenal fatigue or subcutaneous function in the thyroid gland, this is super stressful to your body and can end in even more symptoms and inflammations.

I have also replaced my toothpaste to a more natural and completely fluoride- free. Fluoride is apparently NOT beneficial for the thyroid gland. You´ll find the toothpaste I use here.

Local produce is the best and organic if possible. Why - To avoid all pesticides and poisons and to get pure natural ingredients that do not harm your body, as well as your thyroid gland. None organic meats and processed animal products often contain antibiotics, hormones and other toxins that are super damaging and stressful to the body. Support your local farmer and learn where your food comes from and what they give the animals and how they treat them.

Strengthen your body with the right dietary supplement and clean food. You will find what supplements I use to balance my thyroid gland here. There i´ll explain what they are good for, and why I use them. I am not sponsored in any way, I buy my products like any other person. When I started out I thought it was a bit confusing and there´s so much information these days and it´s hard to know what to read and what to not. Since I am studying to become a nutritionist and health coach I already got the advantage of getting a lot of information through my studies. These are things that actually have worked for me, my test results shows a total recovery and most important of all: I am feeling great. I recognize my own body again and I got all of my energy back which is the biggest relief.

I personally do not eat anything that raises my blood sugar, it also includes fruit (fructose) and some vegetables (with high GI). However, I eat more berries (antioxidants) and green vegetables (chlorophyll), which works very well for me. My body works best with protein from organic locally raised beef, lamb and turkey, wild caught fish and seafood, locally farmed eggs, good fats from avocado, cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil, some nuts, some seeds, as well as organic vegetables. I use coconut cream and nut milks for creamy stews and smoothies. I use nut flours and other gluten free flours for baking, you can find them here.

One suggestion is to locally shop for the season. So that you get what grows in the right season. This way, you will not eat food that is imported from the other side of the world and that probably does not contain as much good as you think because they are often picked early before matured so that they can mature during the trip to your country and to not get old before reaching the store. Also like mentioned before. Shop organic to avoid pesticides and other chemicals.

Sleep properly and make sure you get the right kind of sleep. Sleep before 22:00, 23:00 at the latest.

I have computer and mobile free evenings at least 1 hour before bedtime. Do you have a hard time sleeping? Then it's good to read a book or listen to an audiobook.

I Hope you learned something and that this could be helpful. Do you like this post? Please share it below so that other women can read this and learn more.

Hi. I am Linda, based out of Sweden but mostly traveling the world. Here you will find my travel tips, healthy lifestyle tips, personal style and my lifestyle in general. Thank you for following on my new adventures. X